Dallen

Dallen Jennet, a 14-year-old boy, lost his nose 5 years ago as a result of an electrocution accident. Through partnership with Dr. Tal Dagan (one of our volunteer ENT surgeons), New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mt. Sinai, Mentor Worldwide LLC, Oxford Performance Materials, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health, Canvasback Missions helped Dallen to receive a new nose.

Dallen's Story

Dallen's procedures and surgeries have been very successful, and he is back in the Marshall Islands. Thanks so much to everyone that made this all possible!

Dallen Jennet, 14, was just like any kid. He liked to climb trees, play basketball, and make music with his ukulele. But 5 prior, after scaling a tree with some friends, he tripped and fell face-first onto a live wire. With flesh burned beyond repair, doctors had to remove his nose and several toes, leaving him with a painful injury. After that point, Dallen stayed home from school, preferring to spend most of his days within the confines of his yard.

It took us a little while to get to know Dallen, but after a couple visits he started opening up to our team. Even though he’d been dealt a rough hand, he could light up a room with a contagious smile. His warmth and bravery though the whole process reminded us of why we love working in the Marshall Islands.

Since learning of this incident, Canvasback Missions had endeavored to find surgeons to take on Dallen’s case. In 2014, a well-known reconstructive surgeon in New York City named Dr. Tal Dagan contacted Canvasback. Dagan ended up going to Majuro for an ENT clinic, and in addition to the many surgeries he performed, he met Dallen.

Dagan immediately began working out a plan of action to reconstruct Dallen’s face and soon recruited others to join in his mission. In February of 2015, Canvasback volunteer surgeon Dr. Janice Schilling performed the first surgery in Majuro, placing in Dallen’s forehead a tissue expander donated by Mentor. Over the course of several weeks, Dr. Aristotle Cruz at the Majuro Hospital ensured that this expander creates skin needed to reconstruct Dallen’s nose.

Dallen and his mother traveled to New York City, where Dagan performed the surgeries that New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mt. Sinai donated, using a 3D-printed implant made by Oxford Performance Materials. Through these generous donations and the collaborative efforts of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health, Dallen received a new nose.

We could not make these life-changing services available without the passionate dedication of our volunteers, the collaboration of organizations across the world, and support from our donors. With your continued support, we can keep helping individuals like Dallen.

How to Help

Thanks to

You can help us provide life-changing surgeries and healthcare that would otherwise be unavailable, for Dallen and many others like him. Become part of our Canvasback family to make sure individuals in Micronesia get the care they need and deserve.